Unseen Peril
by vanishingp2000
Summary: Nightmares can become reality, especially in deep space as Tucker and Reed find out to their cost. COMPLETE.
1. Default Chapter

Unseen Peril 

By Vanishingp2000

Email:

Rating PG 13 – English –Adventure/Drama/Friendship NO SLASH

Disclaimer: Enterprise is owned by Paramount. I offer them and the cast and crew my grateful thanks for bringing us such wonderful entertainment. This story was written entirely for fun, not profit and is not intended to infringe copyright in any way.

Archive: Yes but please let me know where.

**A/N **This story has been a long time in the writing; I began it well over a year ago and got blocked for quite some time. Some good friends encouraged me to complete it so here it is. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 1.

Trip Tucker woke slowly, at first unaware of his surroundings. It was quiet, peaceful and he felt relaxed as he opened his eyes. Relaxed that is until he realised that he was submerged in a thick viscous liquid and was looking at the world through a green mist.

He started to panic, his heart pounding but try as he might he couldn't move his limbs quickly enough to make any headway through the liquid. A small voice in the back of his mind began demanding his attention. _Calm down, _it said, _calm down, you are breathing not drowning._ The rational part of him tried to slow his racing heartbeat but it was an uphill struggle. _How can I be breathing? I'm in liquid fer cryin' out loud._

Gradually reason won out, he wasn't drowning so he must be breathing the liquid, however improbable that was. Slowly he turned his head, his heart rate beginning to return to something approaching normal. The liquid was everywhere but he wasn't floating, his arms wouldn't move more than a few inches from their position above his head. Trip tried to focus his eyes but they felt strange, the eyelids almost held in place by the liquid. Eventually he realised that his arms were, in fact, imprisoned and tied to the glass like wall behind him. His legs too. The room was filled with light coming from somewhere above him, almost like sunlight filtering through trees and as he turned his head a little further he could just make out another form, imprisoned as he was. It was Reed.

Malcolm was unconscious. _Just as well,_ Tucker thought inconsequentially. He felt for his friend knowing that for Malcolm their current circumstances would be like all of his worst nightmares combined. The Armoury officer's aquaphobia was not well known but Trip had been made privy to his friend's perceived weakness some months ago during one of their typically frank but increasingly friendly discussions.

_How the hell did we end up like this? _Trip wondered, craning his neck to see further into the 'room.' Objects did appear to be anchored to the floor, furniture perhaps, it was hard to be sure. The liquid seemed to be moving slowly making him feel slightly seasick as it blurred his vision. It was almost uniformly green in varying shades as the flickering overhead lights caught the waves but in the distance the colour turned emerald and Trip couldn't make anything out at all.

Belatedly he realised that both of them had been stripped down to their Starfleet blues and both had tubes protruding from their chests. Forcing down the panic that threatened to rise within him again he tried to look clinically. There were two tubes for each of them but although they looked to contain something of a different colour than the green that surrounded him he couldn't make it out. Everything was just too blurry. _It's what's lettin' me breathe, _he supposed and wriggled a bit to see what it felt like. Aside from a monster headache there was no pain. Frowning Trip tried to think back but found large gaps in his memory. He knew who he was and where he was supposed to be but had no idea of what he had been doing before he woke up.

Experimentally he opened his mouth to try to speak but realised that it was full of liquid, _no taste, _he discovered now that he thought about it. Frustrated he leaned his head back against the wall trying to think. The situation was so far out of his experience that he had no idea what to do.

A strange humming sound began from off to his left, gradually becoming louder. Trip turned his head towards it and his eyes widened at the sight before him. A semi transparent form swam slowly in his direction. It was nebulous in shape and billowed like a cloud. It had no obvious features but somehow moved with purpose, menace.

Tucker shivered and felt the goosebumps rise on his arms and chest. Subconsciously he tried to force himself back against the wall to put as much distance as possible between himself and the life form. The being edged closer with no apparent haste and halted mere inches from his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

Unseen Peril 

By Vanishingp2000

Disclaimer: Enterprise is owned by Paramount. I offer them and the cast and crew my grateful thanks for bringing us such wonderful entertainment. This story was written entirely for fun, not profit and is not intended to infringe copyright in any way.

**A/N Many thanks for the reviews. I hope you enjoy Chapter 2.**

Chapter 2 

Two days earlier

"I'm tellin' you Malcolm," Trip began adamantly.

"So you said Sir," Malcolm Reed interrupted patiently, "but the fact remains, your score was less than perfect."

"Ninety eight percent," Tucker raged, "it's….."

"Two percent short," Reed interrupted again. "I'm afraid it's not quite up to scratch."

"Not up to scratch?" Tucker's voice was rising with his temper and he failed to see the glint in the Armoury officer's eye. He eyed the phase pistol in his hand and contemplated the flashing target balefully. Ninety eight percent meant that he had missed only one shot out of the fifty fired within the time limit. How many people could better that anyway? He sighed and looked over at Reed who was standing patiently waiting for him to begin again, a slight smirk beginning at the corner of his mouth.

Tucker blew out his cheeks in exasperation before letting his head drop with a sigh. "Dammit Malcolm, I swear if you do that again I'll…….."

Reed smiled his enigmatic smile and reached out his hand for the pistol. "As I was saying," he remarked glibly not a bad effort all told." He dodged nimbly as Trip's good natured swipe headed for his head but his chuckle was interrupted by the comm.

"All senior officers report to the bridge," Captain Archer's voice cut clearly across the armoury as Reed keyed the switch. All banter forgotten Tucker raised his eyebrows towards his friend in silent question as both quickly exited the room.

Tucker and Reed entered the bridge just as T'Pol was saying "I can get nothing further from my scans Captain."

To Trip's eyes she appeared frustrated but he was probably just assigning his own emotions to her again. He lifted his eyebrows in silent question to the captain but Archer just gestured towards the situation room where the rest of the senior staff was already waiting. Tamping down on his curiosity the engineer followed Reed to stand around the monitor. The display was filled with the image of a small planetary body. The planet was swathed in gaseous clouds that were tinged a greenish blue.

"The planet is Class N Captain," T'Pol reported, "unsuitable for Human habitation."

"The distress call definitely came from the planet?" Archer asked, looking at Hoshi Sato, his communications officer.

"Yes Sir," she agreed promptly, "and we were hailed in English."

Archer shook his head looking questioningly at his officers, seeking their opinions.

"English speakers or were they using some kind of universal translator?" Trip asked.

"Impossible to tell Commander," Hoshi replied pulling a face, "I can't get a strong enough fix on their signal to determine their signature."

"So it could be a trap." Reed mused with his customary caution. "How did they know our language?"

"They may be human Malcolm," Archer pointed out.

"Is that likely Sir?" Reed countered. "As far as we know no human has got this far out before."

"It is possible though Lieutenant," put in Travis Mayweather the ship's boomer. "Though you would have to have been travelling for a lot of years at warp 2 to get here."

"Have we received any reply to our hails?" Archer asked cutting through the discussion.

Sato shook her head. "No Sir," she replied, "I've got a continuous hail broadcasting at the moment."

"Perhaps we'd better just go and take a look." Tucker offered.

Archer smiled at his friend's enthusiasm. "Could we safely pilot a shuttle through those clouds?"

Trip checked the readings on the monitor before replying. "I'll need to reinforce the plating, there's a strong gravitational field, but it should be OK. Give me a couple of hours."

The captain nodded. "Get right on it," he instructed. "I want you ready to go by 14.30 hours."

Just under two hours later Trip cleared the last of his tools away into his toolbox and exited Shuttlepod two which he had prepared to go on the attempted rescue mission. Despite his enthusiasm he felt a strange prickling along the hairs at the back of his scalp but he put it down to anticipation and hurried to get into his environmental suit.

Archer arrived to see him off, together with Reed who was to go with him. They didn't know what they might find and the captain was prepared to listen to reason when it came to the armoury officer's hunch about a possible trap.

"Hoshi has pinpointed the signal to within a radius of ten miles, just north of the equator," Archer said, completing the briefing. "The climate down there is far from settled so I don't want you taking any chances," he continued. "If you can't land safely then get out of there and we'll think again."

"Has there been any response to our hails Capt'n?" Trip asked.

"No," Archer shook his head. "I'm beginning to think it may be an automated distress signal, or maybe there's no one left to find."

Reed looked sceptical, his tactical instincts coming to the fore but he said nothing, merely climbed awkwardly into the shuttle in his bulky environmental suit. He settled himself into the pilot's seat putting his helmet on the floor beside him. Tucker took his position behind him ready to monitor ship's systems and Archer sealed the door from the outside, reluctantly leaving them to go without him.

The shuttle launch was uneventful but once they began the descent towards the planet the effects of the gases surrounding it became more apparent.

"Whoa," yelped Trip clinging to the console in front of him for support as the shuttle was flung violently to the side by a particularly vicious eddy. Malcolm said nothing but steeled himself to remain in place, concentration evident on his face.

The wild ride continued for the next several minutes, causing numerous bruises to its occupants. Trip monitored the ship's systems as best he was able under the circumstances and gave brief reports to Reed who, as pilot, he didn't want to disturb any more than he had to.

Finally the small craft levelled out barely one hundred metres above the ground as they entered a patch of stable air. Reed held the position as they scanned the area beneath them for bio signs. Visibility was poor with masses of dark swirling clouds of gas making the landscape one of the most inhospitable they had seen.

"I'm reading a landmass beneath that cloud," Tucker reported, chewing on his lip contemplatively. "Parts of it are pretty high, as in much higher than we are at the moment."

Reed pulled a face. "When we go up I'll not have much control. Looks like we were lucky not to hit anything coming in."

Trip nodded. "Stay put for the moment and keep scanning, I'll try and contact the ship, see if they've heard anything." With that he keyed the comm controls. "Tucker to Enterprise."

"Enterprise…………………..hardly……………………….you." The reply was barely discernable through the static and Tucker turned the volume down instinctively. "If you can hear me Enterprise," he began, "we are hovering about a hundred metres above the ground. All we can see is a mass of cloud and no distress signal yet. We'll keep looking and get back to you in thirty minutes."

He cut the transmission and went back to scanning for life signs, developing a search pattern grid to tie in with Malcolm's manoeuvres. Silence descended on the shuttlepod as they worked, punctuated by the occasional beep from a console as they reached the end of a search pattern. Finally, after almost twenty minutes Tucker spoke up cautiously. "Hold it there Malcolm," he said, "I think I may have something."

Reed halted the shuttle and waited for Trip to speak again. The engineer was frowning at his readout but eventually sat back and offered. "I think that must be it. In the northern quadrant."

He showed his results to Reed who cautiously agreed. "It certainly looks like a distress signal but I don't like the look of the land."

The mists had lifted slightly as they had flown slowly over the search area and they could see peaks and troughs of land beneath the shuttle but nowhere could they see anywhere flat enough to land safely. Indeed much of the area beneath them seemed to be made up of areas of wild sea. The water was being whipped up into vicious waves tens of metres high which were flung in their turn against the land mass.

"I'm with you," Trip shuddered, "I don't see how we can set down in that. But we can't just ignore a distress signal."

"I could try closing in a little on the signal," Reed offered, "maybe we could……."

He was interrupted as the shuttle gave a violent shudder and suddenly veered towards the ground as they hit a particularly dense pocket of gas. Reed fought to right the craft as Tucker fed power to the engines but the surge had been too great and the small craft plummeted quickly towards the sea as it gave up its battle to stay aloft, its two occupants hanging on grimly in a vain attempt to stay in their seats.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Unseen Peril

By Vanishingp2000

Disclaimer: Enterprise is owned by Paramount. I offer them and the cast and crew my grateful thanks for bringing us such wonderful entertainment. This story was written entirely for fun, not profit and is not intended to infringe copyright in any way.

**A/N Many thanks for the reviews. I hope you enjoy Chapter 3.**

Chapter 3.

"Ow," Tucker moaned, levering himself up from his position on the floor of the shuttle, one hand held to a gash on his forehead. He eased himself back against the rear bench and briefly closed his eyes. Opening them again he surveyed the wreckage around him. To his right Malcolm was stirring with his own moans. "You OK?" Trip asked his friend.

"Just about," Reed muttered, pushing the pilot's seat around so that he could sit in it. "You?"

Tucker nodded reaching into the seat locker for the medkit. He took out a sterile wipe and cleaned the cut on his forehead. It was bleeding freely but wasn't deep and the blood soon began to clot. He looked over at Reed. The armoury officer was staring out of the viewscreen, his face transfixed.

"What's up?" Trip asked.

"We're floating." Reed's voice was quiet, controlled.

Trip moved over and leaned on the pilot's console looking out at the wild scene before them. It was hard to believe that he hadn't noticed before. The shuttle was being tossed vigorously around in the mountainous seas. It was a tribute to the builders that it was still in one piece.

Waves were breaking primarily from in front of the shuttle causing it to corkscrew and then rock back again with a decidedly unsettling motion. Trip swallowed hard and tried to concentrate. The view between the waves told them little as, for the most part, the craft was rising too low in the water for them to see beyond the wave crests. It was also dark and the gaseous mists remained so all they could do was to hope that they were not about to crash.

He turned and looked behind him. Anything that had been loose at the time of the crash was now rolling about the shuttle floor. Locker doors were hanging open adding to the chaos. There was, thankfully, no sign of any leaks but the lighting had dimmed to emergency lights only and the engines had died.

Trip tapped Reed on the shoulder, trying to distract him. "Come on Malcolm," he said, "let's see what we can do about gettin' some power back around here."

Malcolm shook himself a little and looked over at his friend slowly. "Sorry, what did you say?" he asked.

"I said, let's get the power back on." Tucker replied, forcing enthusiasm into his voice that he certainly didn't feel. "Try the Comm," he suggested, "see if anyone's home."

Reed obeyed mechanically but the movement helped to startle him back to normality and a little colour appeared again in his face as he turned from the viewscreen. "Reed to Enterprise," he began, "come in please. We have an emergency. Reed to Enterprise." After several more attempts he turned back to the engineer. "The comm. is open but we don't appear to be getting through."

Tucker scowled and chewed his lip thoughtfully. He was half buried beneath a console trying to fix a mass of burned out circuits. "Hand me that hyper spanner will ya?" he asked slowly, his mind elsewhere.

Reed handed him the instrument getting down on the floor with him. "How does it look?"

"Should be up and runnin' again within half an hour, it's not as bad as it looks."

Before the words were out of his mouth the shuttle rocked violently throwing Reed on top of his legs. The lieutenant's face turned white as the little craft hung upside down for an interminable time before struggling to right itself.

"Ah Malcolm," mumbled Trip, his head still beneath the console, "It's kinda uncomfortable down here."

"Sorry," Reed offered again picking himself up gingerly as the shuttle continued to roll. He pulled himself together and forced his eyes away from the viewscreen, focussing on the task to hand. "Are we still good to go?" he asked.

"Shuttle should be," Trip muttered, half to himself, moving back out from under the console holding his right hand with his left. His face was pinched in pain and Reed winced sympathetically as he saw the state of his friend's hand.

"What happened?" he asked already reaching for the medkit.

"Couldn't keep ma hand away from the circuits when we rolled. Just got them reconnected too."

Reed smiled at Trip's priorities, the man was an engineer through and through. He sat back down next to his friend and looked closely at his hand. It was a nasty burn and would need protecting to prevent infection. Trip was breathing unsteadily and sweat was breaking out on his forehead. _He's going into shock, _thought Malcolm, reaching for a hypo of analgesic. He administered the shot and was relieved to see Trip's colour returning to normal as he began to treat the burn.

Tucker leaned back and closed his eyes, letting the painkiller take effect. It wasn't the first burn he'd had and he didn't suppose it'd be the last but it wasn't an experience he relished. He opened his eyes again as Malcolm finished applying the sterile burn dressing. "Thanks."

"No problem. How does it feel?"

"Not too bad thanks, pain's easing off. We should get back to the repairs." Trip eased himself back onto his knees and peered under the console. He looked down at his hand and then back at his friend. "I think you might have to finish off here," he said pulling a face. "If you pull down the transceiver array I'll have a look at that."

"Sure." Reed got unsteadily to his feet having to compensate for the shuttle's unpredictable pitching. He reached above his head and pulled down the transceiver, which he handed to Trip before picking up the discarded hyper spanner and beginning to work on the console.

Tucker wedged the array awkwardly against his knees and looked closely at the board. "It's no wonder you weren't getting' through," he said after a moment, "the entire transceiver assembly is fried."

"Can you fix it?" asked Reed absorbed in his task.

"Not entirely."

"How _not entirely_ would that be?"

"I can send an automated distress beacon and I can fix it so's we can receive a signal but we won't be able to talk to anyone."

Reed shrugged. "Better than nothing I suppose. Can we still pick up the distress signal?"

Tucker frowned over at his friend. "Probably but what the hell good would that do? We're not exactly in any shape to help ourselves in case you hadn't noticed."

"I'm still not convinced that it was a distress signal in the first place."

"Where are you goin' with this Malcolm?"

"If we _were_ lured down here, knowing where that signal came from could be a good idea."

"Sure, but if it's genuine…?" Trip trailed off frowning at the board in his hand.

"Exactly."

"Well right now I don't see's we've much option but to try and contact Enterprise and see if we can get some manoeuvrability or we won't be going anywhere."

"You do have a way of cutting to the heart of the matter," said Reed dryly.

Tucker smiled slightly then lurched forward as the shuttle was once more thrown violently end over end. This time it didn't right itself and continued spinning at breakneck speed. Trip managed to hold onto the chair strut for long enough to look out the viewscreen but then wished he hadn't. All he could see was water rushing in a furious torrent over the surface. What light there had been had disappeared and from outside the little craft they could hear an eerie shrieking which grew ever louder as the shuttle plummeted further into the depths.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Again, many thanks for reviewing. This is a short chapter I'm afraid but it needed to end where it does. The next chapter will be longer and should be posted tomorrow. I hope you enjoy this one.**

Chapter 4.

Commander, that distress signal," Reed began.

"Huh," Trip interrupted frowning across at the lieutenant in the dim emergency lights. The shuttle was being tossed about like flotsam amid a wailing loud enough to wake the dead and Malcolm was worried about a distress signal.

"We're on top of it," Reed stated.

"On top of what?" Tucker gasped, hanging on to the chair strut with his good hand while everything that wasn't tied down was flung through the air.

"On top of the distress signal that brought us down here. These are the co-ordinates, I'm getting a clear signal," insisted Reed who was clinging to the console where the emergency signal had been given priority.

"What the hell good does that do us?" Trip shouted, "I think we've found out what happened but………" he broke off abruptly as the shuttle emitted an ominous creaking as it was pulled ever deeper beneath the waves. The motion had evened out into a purposeful downward spiral from which they were powerless to escape. They were caught in a whirlpool of black, punctuated here and there by radiant lights and accompanied always by the banshee wail.

"Captain, I've lost the shuttle's signal." Hoshi's voice was controlled but Archer could hear the undercurrent of worry.

"How far have they got?"

"We tracked them as far as the thermosphere and then they just disappeared from sensors."

"I am attempting to boost the signal now Captain," T'Pol spoke in her usual quiet manner.

"Travis, take us into a lower orbit," Archer ordered, "as close as you can and still be safe."

"Aye Sir," Mayweather responded working his controls with the ease born of much practice.

"I don't suppose there's any change in the distress call?" Archer wondered aloud.

"No Sir," Hoshi shook her head, "I still can't pick it up. Just the initial message."

"And nothing from the away team?"

Hoshi shook her head again, her eyes never leaving her instruments. "Their signal was steady and then….. it just disappeared," she repeated trying to focus her readings even more tightly, determined to trace the shuttle as quickly as possible.

"Look out."

Trip threw himself to the side of the shuttle at Reed's shout. The craft was being flung mercilessly end over end and it was all but impossible to keep in place. The shuttle was in near darkness, save for panels exploding, showering them with electrical sparks.

The noise was deafening, movement sickening and coherent thought a thing of the past. Trip caught glimpses of Malcolm clinging grimly with one hand to the equipment panel whilst fending off flying debris with the other. He supposed that he presented a similar sight.

Suddenly, nerve jarringly all movement and noise stopped as the shuttle reached the end of its journey. The crash left them in complete darkness and totally disoriented for a moment.

Gradually Trip regained his senses and became aware of a noise from off to his left. He couldn't place it at first in the dark and he turned his head to listen.

"Malcolm?" he whispered, his voice carrying unnervingly after the recent cacophony. No answer. Worried now Trip began crawling towards where he had last seen his friend. He became aware of a change in the light, it was still all but dark but the shuttle was being vaguely lit by a luminescent glow. Tucker's head shot round in the direction of the subtle sound he had heard earlier and there it was, a greenish fluorescent liquid was trickling down from a ruptured seam in the shuttle's ceiling plating. Even as he watched the flow increased with the enormous pressure of the water outside the craft forcing the crack ever wider.

Biting down on his rising panic Tucker used the increasing light to his advantage and soon found Malcolm lying amid the wreckage. Blood flowed from a gash on his forehead.

"Malcolm." Trip reached him quickly and felt for a pulse, it was slow and steady and he breathed a sigh of relief before lifting his friend clear of the debris which had fallen about him. Malcolm showed no sign of waking and Tucker's hand reached for the medkit, slowing as his attention was suddenly reclaimed. He watched, horrified, as the fluorescent liquid began gushing through the ceiling as the shuttle's shielding failed completely.

He grabbed Malcolm under the arms and hauled them both upright retreating into the far corner as the liquid rapidly rose to meet their knees. The fluorescent glow increased causing a stinging sensation in his eyes even as he wondered what kind of liquid it was that was pulsing about them; it was too thick to be water.

Trip looked frantically about, holding Malcolm's head above the rising tide. His eyes lit on the crack which was almost wide enough to get through but even as he watched, he knew, there was nowhere to go. The shuttle had plummeted hundreds of metres beneath the waves, they were trapped and the liquid was roiling now within inches of the shuttle's ceiling. Trip held their heads above the flow for a few moments more before the little craft filled completely with the viscous green fluid. Just as he slipped down into the liquid he thought he saw a pulsing white light advancing on them then all thought was gone as he slipped away.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Unseen Peril 

By Vanishingp2000

Disclaimer: Enterprise is owned by Paramount. I offer them and the cast and crew my grateful thanks for bringing us such wonderful entertainment. This story was written entirely for fun, not profit and is not intended to infringe copyright in any way.

**A/N Many thanks for the reviews I am delighted that people are reading and enjoying this.**

Chapter 5.

**End of flashback.**

Trip Tucker woke slowly, at first unaware of his surroundings. It was quiet, peaceful and he felt relaxed as he opened his eyes.

"Take it easy Trip." A voice off to his left, somehow familiar. He turned his head and looked into the smiling face of Jonathan Archer.

"Welcome back."

Tucker frowned and tried to think back, somehow he knew he hadn't expected to be here. He raised his hand to rub his eyes and found it encased in a burn dressing. He frowned again, half closing his eyes in puzzlement as he looked across at his captain. "Malcolm?" Trip struggled to sit up looking wildly about him until his gaze rested on a nearby biobed on which Reed lay breathing steadily.

"Take it easy," Archer repeated gently pushing the engineer back down onto the bed.

"What happened?" Tucker rasped, his voice hoarse.

"You don't remember?"

Trip shook his head slowly. "I remember leavin' the ship. Malcolm and I went down to the planet. There was a distress call?"

Archer nodded but waited to see if his friend could remember anything more. Tucker looked pale and, apart from the hand, his body was a mass of bruises. Considering the state of the shuttle the latter was hardly surprising the captain reflected.

"We crashed," Tucker spoke slowly, trying to piece events together in his mind. There was a lot of interference as we entered the atmosphere."

Archer nodded encouraged. "We picked up your distress call when the storm cleared," he said, watching his friend closely. Trip was looking at his hand.

"I was tryin' to fix the power when I got this. I don't remember sendin' a distress call."

"Perhaps Malcolm…"Jon began.

Trip closed his eyes trying to picture the shuttle. His memories were hazy to say the least. In fact, he couldn't even remember the crash. "How did you manage to pick us up?" he asked.

"When the storm cleared so did the interference in the atmosphere. Travis and I were able to home in on your signal. The shuttle was in a hell of a mess, it's a wonder either of you survived."

"I can't remember crashing."

Archer smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Phlox says it's not surprising to have some memory loss."

"Did you recover the shuttle?"

Jon looked surprised. "Are you kidding, the wreckage was scattered for several hundred metres among those rocks. Like I said it's a wonder you came out of it alive."

Trip lay back and closed his eyes and Archer made as if to leave but stopped as Tucker spoke again. "Where are we now?"

"Still in orbit but there's been no further sign of the distress call and I'm not risking anyone else so I wasn't planning on staying here much longer, just waiting for you two to see what you can tell us."

"We can't leave yet."

"Why not?" Jon was puzzled. "You remember something?"

Tucker looked frustrated and rubbed his eyes again, trying to think but his mind was like a cloud, misty and nebulous. He rubbed harder at his forehead attempting to rub away the sudden pain behind his temples. The more he tried to remember the worse it was getting.

Archer noticed his discomfort and motioned to Phlox who was watching discretely from the other side of sickbay. The doctor came over and aimed his scanner at Tucker.

"How are you feeling?" he asked in his usual considerate manner.

"I'm fine Doc," Trip answered, his mind elsewhere. "Just a bit of a headache."

"You are lucky to have as few aches and pains as you have," Phlox remarked, reaching for a hypo of analgesic. "The captain showed me his scans of your crash site. You and Mr Reed were remarkably fortunate to escape with your lives. As it was the lieutenant suffered a concussion."

"He hit his head, the shuttle was……………..aagh" Trip broke off clutching his head with a cry of pain.

Phlox immediately picked up his scanner again while the captain tried to ease his writhing friend back onto the bed. At length the doctor managed to inject the hypo into Tucker's neck and the engineer gradually relaxed back against the pillow unconscious.

"Doctor?" Archer's tone was curt, worry for his friend evident.

"I'm not sure Captain, the scans show nothing wrong."

"That sure as hell wasn't 'nothing.'"

Phlox nodded absently, surveying the readouts above his patient's bed. "When did he first show signs of a headache?" he asked.

"Not at first, he seemed quite relaxed when he woke up, though he couldn't remember much. The headache started when he tried to remember."

"Mmm, it may just be the stress of trying to recover the memories but it does seem an extreme reaction. Can you let me have the composition of the gases on the planet Captain, perhaps the commander was exposed to something which may have caused his headaches?"

Archer moved to the comm. panel and called T'Pol on the bridge to request the information before returning to stand between the biobeds. "What about Malcolm?" he asked.

"He is still deeply unconscious with a concussion, I don't want to wake him."

Archer sighed and looked down at his officers, his friends, feeling the anger rising within him. He wanted answers and somehow he knew that that meant staying around.

"Look after them," he instructed the doctor, "Let me know as soon as either of them wakes up."

Phlox nodded, once again engrossed in his readings so that he didn't notice as the captain left the room.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The light flickered at the edge of his consciousness somehow demanding his attention. As he watched it approached slowly out of the darkness becoming brighter so that he couldn't make out anything beyond it. It was mesmerising and he found that he couldn't move, even his eyes seemed drawn by the light and he felt his heart rate increasing as the beam pulsed ever nearer.

"Mr Tucker. Commander," Phlox raised his voice as he tried to rouse his thrashing patient. The engineer's biosigns were fluctuating dangerously as he was enveloped in the throes of a nightmare, his eyes moving rapidly beneath the lids. Finally the signs began to stabilise as Trip showed signs of waking and Phlox relaxed slightly only to take a sudden step backwards as Tucker shot upright with a shuddering breath. He looked around wildly before registering the doctor standing beside the bed. Closing his eyes he leaned slowly back on his elbows and tried to slow his breathing.

"That's right Commander," Phlox spoke soothingly as he ran his scanner over the engineer. "Try and relax."

"What happened?" Tucker whispered, eyes still closed as he ran a hand over a face soaked in perspiration.

"You had a nightmare."

"I did?" Trip wondered. "I don't remember."

"Don't worry about that, I rarely remember my dreams."

"You hardly ever sleep Doc," Tucker's voice was stronger as he eased himself back and relaxed into the pillows.

Phlox put down his scanner and fetched a damp towel which he handed over and Tucker wiped his face and neck gratefully.

"Thanks Doc," he muttered handing the cloth back and looking across at the neighbouring biobed. "How's Malcolm?"

"I believe that he will be rejoining us soon. He is showing a higher level of consciousness." As he spoke Phlox moved across to the comm. unit on the wall to call the Captain as he had promised. Privately he hoped that the captain would be able to draw his friend into conversation and unlock some of what had happened down on the planet. Something was causing the engineer's nightmares and he wasn't happy about the stresses that the submerged memories were causing the young man. He collected a glass of water and returned to Trip's bedside proffering the drink.

Tucker sat up and drank gratefully, letting the cool liquid soothe his throat before swallowing. He grimaced as a stabbing pain skittered across his temple but the pain was soon forgotten at a moan from the other bed. He turned to watch as Reed slowly opened his eyes, screwing them shut again immediately against the light.

"Hey Malcolm."

Reed opened his eyes again, turning his head slowly in Trip's direction. He smiled slightly at the engineer then lay back exhausted.

"Well Mr Reed," Phlox kept his voice quiet in deference to the sick man, "It's about time you woke up."

"How," Reed swallowed and tried again. "How long was I asleep?"

"Long enough, I can't be sure how long you were unconscious before we found you but you have been back on Enterprise for nearly ten hours."

"What happened?"

"Well now, Mr Tucker can't seem to remember at present."

"Don't even try Malcolm," Tucker warned, remembering his headache the last time he'd tried to remember.

Reed looked blearily over at the sickbay doors as Archer entered. He looked weary and unshaven which surprised him but the captain smiled warmly at the sight of his two officers awake once more.

"Gentlemen," he said, catching Trip's eye. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," Tucker replied as Reed tried to sit up only to find himself held down by the doctor.

"Not just yet Lieutenant. You suffered a serious concussion and will need to rest here at least until tomorrow."

Reed pulled a face but, truth to tell he didn't feel up to moving anyway so he let himself drift and tried to follow the conversation between the captain and Tucker.

"We were able to recover the shuttle's logs but most of the data was degraded. T'Pol's working in it now to see what can be salvaged."

"I remember a storm. We were hit almost as soon as we entered the atmosphere. Must have crashed pretty much straight away."

"You're very lucky that your suits remained intact. You were thrown about on those rocks but you both had your suits and helmets in place."

"I'm glad that we did," Trip said dryly.

"Of course, but you see what I'm getting at. The shuttle was destroyed but you found time to put your helmets on and they survived the crash."

"So they can't have been exposed to any chemicals then Captain?" queried Phlox.

"Not unless the shuttle started breaking up before it hit the ground and before they got their helmets in place."

"Born lucky I guess," Tucker stated closing his eyes against what he could only describe as a 'flickering' in his mind. He still couldn't remember what had happened but he recalled well enough what he had felt the last time he tried to remember so he figured he would just take Jon's word for it and wait until T'Pol could recover something from the shuttle's logs.

"When can I get out of here Doc?" he asked, suddenly anxious to be up and about.

"Perhaps in the morning, if you get a good nights sleep." Phlox raised his eyebrows at the look on Tucker's face and smiled to himself as the engineer got the message and sank back down onto his pillows.

Archer smiled at them both, relieved to see them awake and comfortable. "Get some sleep, I'll see you in the morning." He said quietly.

Malcolm's eyes were already closing as he gave in to the inevitable but Trip nodded. "Sure thing Capt'n," he replied settling himself more comfortably on the bed.

Archer left quietly after exchanging a few words with Phlox and neither noticed the small pool of water that oozed silently across the floor towards the air vents.


	6. Chapter 6

**For disclaimer see Chapter 1.**

Chapter 6.

Trip rubbed absently at his temples vainly trying to dislodge the headache that had been more or less a constant since he woke up in sickbay the day before. Of course it had 'disappeared' when Phlox threatened to keep him in but he doubted he could fool the Doc for long. _Not sure I want to either,_ he mused to himself as he stretched the muscles in his back before applying himself again to the screen in front of him.

"Anything?" The captain's voice made him start slightly causing the older man to look at him in concern.

"Sorry Capt'n," he mumbled, "didn't hear you come in."

"How're you feeling?" Archer eyed him closely. "Doc says you had another nightmare last night."

Tucker pulled a face knowing that it was pointless trying to fool his friend. "Trouble is, I can't remember a damned thing about it, just wake up soaked to the skin. Nothin' about these scans of our crash site seems familiar either." As he spoke Trip called up the next screen showing recorded images of the wrecked shuttle. The wreckage was strewn across a substantial area of rocky coastline, being mercilessly pounded by the waves.

Tucker stared at the image feeling his head pounding with the waves. Something about the water.......... he hunched forward, mesmerised, seeing the waves in his mind's eye rather than on the screen growing ever taller until…….

"Trip, Trip come out of it." Archer had his hand on the engineer's shoulder and was shaking him gently. The view on the screen hadn't changed but Tucker's eyes had glazed over and perspiration stood out in beads on his forehead.

"Call Phlox," he shouted across to Crewman Rostov who was passing Trip's office, "get him down here."

"Aye Captain." Rostov was already moving towards the comm. One look at his chief all the motivation he needed to hurry. Tucker's face was creased in pain even as his eyes continued to stare blankly at the screen before him.

Abruptly his head reared up and Archer just caught him before he fell from the chair. The engineer was breathing heavily and his head lolled back onto the captain's supporting arm.

"Take it easy Trip, I've got you," Jon murmured comfortingly, reaching out his free hand to wipe the sweat from Trip's eyes. Eyes that were blinking slowly as they gradually came back into focus.

Trip licked dry lips looking up into the concerned face of his friend. "What happened?" he whispered.

Archer shook his head slightly, adjusting his grip as Trip tried to sit up a little in his seat. "You went into some sort of trance, looked like you were in pain," he raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"My head," Tucker admitted, drawing a deep breath and closing his eyes briefly.

At that moment Phlox pushed his way gently through the small group of engineers gathered round their chief's office. "Give me some room please," he asked kneeling down beside Tucker.

Archer nodded to the engineers to move back while maintaining his grip on his friend. Trip was shaking slightly beneath his hand and Jon wanted to give what support he could.

"Mmm, what happened?" Phlox unknowingly repeated Tucker's question as he consulted his medical scanner.

"Not sure Doc," Archer answered. "Trip was looking at the scans of the crash site when he went into some sort of trance."

"Did he come out of it on his own?"

"More or less, I spoke to him but that didn't seem to have any effect, he just jerked backwards after a minute or two and seemed to come out of it on his own."

"Hmm, Mr Tucker?" Phlox asked the engineer who was still pale and shaken.

"I don't know Doc," the young man replied quietly. "I was looking at the water." He broke off closing his eyes against the pain in his head, breathing unevenly.

"We need to get you back to sickbay," Phlox announced, pressing a hypo to Trip's neck. "That should help with the pain. Captain," he gestured towards Tucker but Archer was already helping his friend to his feet. The engineer was unsteady but managed to walk with support, lying back gratefully onto the biobed when they arrived in sickbay.

"Doc?" Archer questioned, worry creasing his forehead.

"I will need to take some more scans but at the moment I can find nothing that would explain Mr Tucker's symptoms."

"What about Malcolm?"

"He had a peaceful night, unlike the Commander. I discharged him to his quarters this morning with orders to rest."

"No sign of headaches?"

"He didn't report any," said Phlox dryly. "However, it may be prudent to have another look at him." As he spoke he moved over to the comm. panel to summon Reed back to sickbay.

Archer meanwhile hovered near Trip's bed watching his friend closely. Tucker's eyes were closed but his breathing had steadied and he was no longer shaking. "What's wrong with me Doc?" he asked suddenly.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you as yet. Please report any symptoms, however insignificant they may seem. When I have spoken to Mr Reed I'll take some more detailed scans in the imaging chamber."

Trip pulled a face and Archer smiled, pleased to see his friend feeling a little better.

Reed entered sickbay looking shocked to see Tucker once again lying on a biobed. "What happened to you?" he asked.

"Headache again," Trip replied ruefully. "How about you?"

"I'm fine," Reed answered quickly.

"No headache at all Mr Reed?" Phlox asked pointedly.

"Not really," Malcolm replied truthfully, "just a dull ache since I woke up this morning."

"Mmm, that would be consistent with a concussion." Phlox looked thoughtful. "Mr Tucker?" he asked.

"I've had a nagging ache all day," the engineer admitted, causing Phlox to purse his lips. "But it's not dull, more like a sharp pain behind my temples. When it gets bad it feels like my head's on fire."

"I've had nothing like that," Malcolm confirmed at the doctor's look.

"How do you feel otherwise?"

"Slightly nauseous, a little dizzy, fine really."

"No bad dreams?"

"None," Reed shook his head.

"Can you remember anything that happened down there Malcolm?" Archer asked quietly. He didn't want to cause either officer distress but they needed to know what had gone on down there.

"We were fine until we hit the atmosphere Sir," Malcolm began slowly. "I can remember launching and……." He frowned.

"Are you alright?" Archer asked anxiously.

"Yes Sir, no headache if that's what you mean but my mind is a total blank. There's nothing there from the launch until I woke up back here." Reed frowned again looking over at Tucker. The engineer was again breathing heavily and had both hands pressed to his temples.

Phlox moved quickly to his side as Archer escorted Malcolm across to the other side of sickbay. "Something happened down there Malcolm," he said. "I can't believe that it was just a shuttle crash and what happened to Trip that didn't happened to you?"

"I wish I knew Sir. You say we were both found with the wreckage?"

"Yes," Archer nodded. "You were both suited up and lying among the rocks at the water's edge with the remains of the shuttle scattered over several hundred metres." Archer grimaced. "It's not salvageable though T'Pol is still scanning the wreckage for any sign of the black box. We picked up your distress call when the storm cleared."

As he spoke Archer watched Reed closely but, while there was no indication of distress, there was no sign that he had remembered anything further either.

"I'm sorry Captain," Reed muttered, "I can't even remember getting knocked out."

"Trip started to say something about the shuttle, he said you bumped your head and the shuttle was………" Jon grimaced, "he couldn't get any more out, the headache was particularly intense that time."

Both officers looked over to where Phlox was helping Trip to a drink of water.

"The headaches seem to be getting worse," Archer mused, "he can't even think at all about what happened without being affected."

"What brought him back to sickbay?" Reed asked, still watching his friend.

"He was reviewing the records of the crash site and went into a trance."

"Perhaps I'd better have a look Sir."

Archer looked sceptical and Reed spoke again quickly. "I've not had any ill effects Sir, perhaps there's nothing for me to remember."

"Because you were unconscious?"

"Perhaps."

"T'Pol is in the science lab. Go and have a look there but don't overdo it Malcolm, any sign of trouble stop. Best let Phlox have a look at you first." Archer called Phlox over to them. "How's Trip?" he asked.

"Resting quietly. I would like to take a few scans of you now Lieutenant," he said, indicating the nearest biobed.

Malcolm sat down and waited patiently until Phlox had finished.

"Anything?" he asked eventually.

"Not on the surface," Phlox shook his head. "You say you have experienced no discomfort when trying to remember?"

"None, but my mind is a blank."

"Malcolm was going to go have a look at the images with T'Pol when you'd finished Doctor," Archer put in. "We need to know what happened down there."

"Very well," Phlox replied, "but I want you to wear a cortical monitor just in case."

Phlox moved off to prepare the monitor as the comm. sounded. "T'Pol to Captain Archer."

"Archer," he responded immediately, "what have you got T'Pol?"

"Unfortunately very little Captain, our search for the black box has so far proved unproductive."

Archer frowned, black boxes emitted their own recognition signal and should be among the first object recovered from any wreckage. Anticipating his comment T'Pol spoke again. "We are endeavouring to refine our scans Captain but I do not believe that there is significant wreckage present to account for a complete shuttlepod."

Archer shared a glance with Reed. "Are we able to transport any of it aboard?"

"Ensign Mayweather is selecting suitable pieces as we speak."

"Thank you T'Pol, Mr Reed will be down shortly to review the scans."

"And Commander Tucker?"

"Back in sickbay I'm afraid , he had an adverse reaction when viewing the scans earlier. I'll fill you in later, let me know as soon as you find anything."

"Aye Captain."

"What's that about not enough wreckage Capt'n," Tucker called from the other side of sickbay.

"Don't even think about it Trip," Archer warned.

"Headache's no worse, besides I can't see it gettin' any better 'til we get to the bottom of this."

"Let us worry about it Trip," said Malcolm moving over to stand by his friend's bed.

"Easy for you to say, you haven't got to sit here doing nothing, trying not to think." Tucker looked so hard done by both Archer and Reed shared a smile, to Trip's indignation. Phlox bustled up with the cortical monitor for Reed. "I shall need you back here presently Lieutenant," he said, "so that I can corroborate your results with the Commander's."

"I'll be in the science lab Doctor when you need me," Reed replied with a smile over at Trip as he left.

"Now then Mr Tucker," Phlox smiled pleasantly, "let's see if we can discover the cause of your headaches."

Trip sat up cautiously and made his way over to the imaging chamber, lying down again as Phlox prepared for his tests. His headache was easing thankfully though it was difficult not to try and think about the cause.

"Ready?" Phlox asked.

"Sure," Tucker replied and relaxed back onto the bed as the doctor opened the chamber.

"This won't take long Captain," he said to Archer who had stayed to watch. "Hopefully we should know more in a few minutes."

The chamber closed and Phlox activated his equipment. The next instant both men stared in horror as an agonised scream came from within.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**For disclaimer see Chapter 1.**

**Many thanks for reviewing, I appreciate your taking the time.**

**A/N I am having a little trouble with the spacing between sections so I've separated them with Roman numerals. Hope this doesn't spoil the flow.**

Chapter 7

I 

"_We have miscalculated. It is harder to block the thoughts of the one than we had realised."_

"_That is because there are too few of us left to do so."_

"_He resists strongly."_

"_It is unfortunate that the other is of no use to us."_

"_We had not realised that we would be unable to produce dreams as he has not seen us."_

"_Is there no other way for us to escape him. We cannot remain forever or we will perish."_

"_We must wait for the others to complete their preliminary exploration and report back to us, there may be a way but our knowledge of this species is limited."_

"_It would be quicker if more of us could leave the one."_

"_Then we would be powerless to block his thoughts. He would begin to remember."_

"_We have the power to render him unconscious."_

"_He is weakening, we cannot risk total damage without risk to ourselves. Our mission is too important."_

"_Then we must wait on the others."_

II 

"That's the last of it Sub Commander." Travis Mayweather moved towards the transporter platform as he spoke. "Anything else will have to be transported directly to the cargo bay, it's too big for here."

"We shall analyse the pieces we have here first Ensign," T'Pol replied. "Have them taken to the science laboratory please."

"Aye aye," Mayweather acknowledged. "Still no sign of the black box?"

T'Pol inclined her head. "None, but I am also now convinced that we cannot see the whole of the wreckage."

"Perhaps it has been swept away, those seas are pretty mountainous."

"Perhaps," T'Pol was non-committal. "When you have secured the wreckage we have aboard please go over the sensor data from your shuttle again, compare it with the scans we have taken from Enterprise. Any discrepancy should be noted and reported at once."

"Yes Sir," Travis replied at once before calling for a maintenance crew to help him move the wreckage of shuttlepod two.

III 

"Get him out of there," Archer commanded but Phlox was already moving to open the imaging chamber. The screams had stopped but whether or not that was a good thing Archer had no time to speculate.

The door opened and Tucker was wheeled out on the couch. His face was ashen and he was unconscious. Quickly Phlox passed a hand scanner over him and sighed in relief as he reached for a hypo. "No harm done Captain," he reassured Archer who was hovering impatiently.

"Did you get any results at all?" the captain asked.

"None I'm afraid but it does seem as though the imaging chamber is no longer an option either," Phlox replied, busying himself with Tucker.

"This is putting a great strain on his systems Captain," the doctor continued. "Each incident is having a cumulative effect."

"I'll go check in with T'Pol and Malcolm," Archer said, casting a last look down at his friend. "I'd like to know why Malcolm isn't affected in the same way. Let me know when Trip wakes up."

"Of course Captain," Phlox replied vaguely, sparing the captain little of his attention as the latter left the room.

IV 

Archer made his way to the science lab, half of his mind still with his friend in sickbay. The doors opened on purposeful silence. T'Pol was alternating between taking readings with her scanner and inputting data at a console whilst Reed was reviewing the scans of the shuttle crash. His face was thoughtful, a far cry from the blank look that had come over Tucker when he viewed the same scenes.

"Anything?" Archer asked of them both.

Reed looked up but waited for T'Pol to answer first. "I am convinced that there is insufficient wreckage here to account for the shuttlepod Captain," she began. "However, it does seem that the wreckage is beyond the reach of the tide."

"So it couldn't have been washed away?"

"I do not believe so Captain."

Archer pulled a face, each answer they came up with deepened the mystery. "Malcolm?" he asked.

"Nothing at all I'm afraid Sir, my mind is a complete blank, it doesn't even feel as though I've forgotten anything." He frowned, "I'm sorry that doesn't make a lot of sense."

"The one thing we do know for certain is that you suffered a serious concussion," Archer mused, "so it is not surprising you can't remember much."

They looked up as the door to the lab opened and Mayweather entered bearing armfuls of wreckage salvaged by the transporter. He was followed by the maintenance crew similarly laden. T'pol immediately moved over with her scanner. Her eyebrows twitched, a veritable display of emotion. "These pieces have been subjected to great pressure Captain," she began, "they have clearly been exposed to water at extreme depth."

V 

"_We now have access to critical systems."_

"_We must report back to co-ordinate our efforts."_

"_It is necessary to communicate with those within the one, the other remains unavailable to us."_

"_Remain here and prepare to establish full control when I return. I will convey our readiness to the others."_

"_We do not have much time."_

"_I will be swift."_

VI 

Trip opened his eyes gingerly and blinked several times before finally focussing on Phlox who stood looking down at him.

"How are you feeling Mr Tucker?" the doctor asked quietly, at the same time consulting his readouts and scanner.

"Tired," Trip acknowledged, "and thirsty."

Phlox smiled and reached out to the night stand for the glass of water that stood there. He helped the engineer to raise his head and held the glass as he drank a little of the clear liquid. Neither noticed the unusual sparkle that made the water shimmer slightly in the light.

"Thanks Doc," Trip eased back down onto the pillow feeling drained. "What happened this time?"

"You don't remember?" Phlox countered. "What happened in the imaging chamber?"

Tucker shook his head. "I remember going in," he said slowly, "the scan began but then there was an intense pain." He shivered. "I can't remember anything else."

Phlox frowned, "I was unable to attain any readings due to the adverse affects on you." He looked across as the doors opened and Archer walked in. "Ah Captain, I was just about to call you," he said cheerfully, "Mr Tucker is, as you see, awake."

Archer smiled as he strode across to the biobed. He looked enquiringly at the doctor who shook his head, nothing new.

"T'Pol has recovered some of the shuttle wreckage," he began, watching Tucker closely for any sign of distress. Trip nodded at him to continue. "It seems that the wreckage was subjected to intense pressure," he paused again, "under water."

Trip closed his eyes, breathing deeply, searching his memory. Something flickered at the edge of his consciousness, almost within reach, almost tangible and then, nothing. Not a trace, his mind was as blank as before. He sighed in frustration and opened his eyes. "Thought I had something for a moment there," he muttered.

"How is your head?" Archer asked anxiously.

"Fine," Tucker raised his eyebrows as the implications sank in. "Fine," he repeated slowly chewing his lip thoughtfully.

Archer looked pensive, hesitant to ask but one look at his friend showed that Tucker was already one step ahead of him. The engineer's brow was creased as he strove to remember what had happened down on the planet. Eventually he lay back and relaxed against his pillow a look of irritation clouding his features.

"Nothing?" Archer asked quietly.

"Nothing," Tucker repeated. "No pain either for that matter but there's just nothing there."

"No headache is progress of a sort," Jon suggested, "maybe you'll remember more in a while. Just be patient."

"Hmph," Tucker retorted wiping his forehead which suddenly felt slightly clammy. "Patient."

Jon smiled slightly at his friend's discomfort. "Patient," he repeated. "Malcolm can't remember anything either."

"T'Pol to Captain Archer."

Archer moved to answer the hail. "Archer."

"Captain, several major systems are failing across the ship, including life support."

Archer paled as the significance of T'Pol's news struck home but she was still speaking. "Life support is only failing in certain areas of the ship, the Mess Hall remains unaffected."

The captain shared a concerned glance with his chief engineer who was already getting up from the bed before replying. "Get all crew into the Mess Hall at once and have the EV suits collected." He coughed as the effects of the thinning atmosphere became apparent. "Doc," he called, "get to the Mess Hall quickly."

"It's getting hotter," Trip said.

"And more humid," Phlox supplied bustling up with several of his animal cages in tow. "These creatures will not survive without air; the others can survive for an hour or so." He was about to pass a cage across to Archer when the captain doubled over slightly, straining for air.

"The air is venting rapidly," Trip exclaimed, reaching out a hand to support his friend. "Much more quickly than it should. We need to get to the Mess Hall." He grabbed the cage from Phlox with his other hand and made his way towards the door.

Phlox followed looking curiously at the engineer who seemed to have shed his tiredness and was moving much more easily than the captain or the other crew members hurrying through the corridors. Adrenaline was a powerful stimulant, perhaps enough he mused, determining to keep a close eye on Tucker nonetheless.

VII 

Archer's party was among the last of the groups to stagger into the Mess Hall. All around the room crew members were struggling to get their breath back and to adjust to the sudden change in circumstances. T'Pol entered last of all, moving with relative ease, and made her way across to the captain.

"I find it hard to believe that this is a breakdown in the conventional sense Captain," she began.

"Too selective you mean?" Tucker interrupted.

"Indeed," T'Pol acknowledged, "the Mess Hall is the only area with life support and the EV suits are damaged."

"Damaged? " Archer ground out, his face still showing the signs of his struggle to breathe.

"Unfortunately each of the seals has been corroded Captain, we have brought them with us but it will take some time to complete repairs."

"You said several major systems," Trip spoke up, chewing his lip. "What's our status?"

"We are still in orbit, as you are no doubt aware," T'Pol gestured slightly out of the viewport. "However all access to manoeuvring has been restricted to engineering and attempts to regain control have failed. Life support has been limited to the Mess Hall and overall temperature and humidity have been significantly increased."

"Any air in the Captain's mess?" Tucker asked succinctly.

"I do not believe so. Why do you wish to know?"

"There's access to the ship's database from there, from here we can't access the computer at all."

"Yet another reason to suspect sabotage." Archer spoke grimly, in full control of himself again. He looked around the room as if to seek out the culprit.

"Surely you can't suspect any of the crew Capt'n?" Tucker broke in.

"No, not in their right mind at least," the captain broke off as Reed bustled up.

"Everyone accounted for Sir, including Porthos," he added unnecessarily as the beagle bounded over to his master.

Archer fondled the dog's ears absentmindedly before reaching up to wipe the sweat off his brow. "Any idea what's causing the temperature increase?" he asked.

"It could be a system overload," Tucker speculated, "but it doesn't feel like it." At T'Pol's sceptical look he continued "no vibrations, unusual noises." He shrugged, "I'm an engineer."

"Indeed," she replied. "I believe that we should start with what we know. The ship is no longer under our control but whether that is as a result of a catastrophic systems failure or the hand of another is, as yet, unknown."

Tucker shook his head thoughtfully "I can't think of anything that would cause a selective failure like this."

"Agreed."

"So where does that leave us?" Archer asked quietly. "How long before we can use the suits?"

"I have a team working on them Captain," Reed said, "best estimate is another hour."

"An hour?" Tucker interrupted, frustration showing plainly on his face. "I need to get down to engineering."

"Take it easy Trip," Archer admonished gently, unbuttoning the top of his uniform in an attempt to get more comfortable in the rising heat. "I take it the life support situation remains unchanged?"

T'Pol consulted her scanner. "Unfortunately Captain," she began. "However the temperature and humidity have continued to rise. Temperatures throughout the ship now stand at 45 degrees."

Tucker threw her a disgusted glance. "What about life signs?"

VIII 

"_We must use the one as we cannot control the other."_

"_I agree, we need his help to rescue our compatriots."_

"_The rise in temperature is assisting as we had hoped; we shall soon be able to leave."_

"_And then our work can really begin."_

IX 

"I am getting anomalous readings," T'Pol stated flatly.

"What do you mean by that?" Tucker asked bluntly.

"When I scan for life signs my results are inconclusive."

Tucker narrowed his eyes and glared at the scanner in her hand whilst Reed, more practically, stated, "Weapons are offline, even supposing we could access them."

Archer listened to the exchange in silence, allowing his senior officers to discuss strategies. He'd found it invaluable in the past to let their views coalesce with his own before making his decisions. He watched as the normally dapper armoury officer loosened the collar of his uniform and wiped his face, the temperature had risen to uncomfortable levels and he accepted a drink gratefully from the selection which Chef offered.

Drinking quickly Jon looked at the crew around him, trying to keep his thoughts in focus. Reed was taking his own readings and frowning at the results, Trip had returned T'Pol's scanner and was drinking thirstily, his eyes glazed. Concerned, Archer was about to ask his friend if he was alright when Tucker abruptly turned on his heel and, in front of the astounded crew, marched out into the airless corridor.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

**For disclaimer see Chapter 1.**

**Thanks again for the reviews and encouragement.**

Chapter 8 

"Stop him," Archer yelled as Trip approached the door but the engineer had timed his move well and only one crewman stood in his way. Tucker brushed him aside with barely a break in stride before keying the door lock and striding outside.

His exit was greeted by stunned silence as the implications set in. T'Pol was the first to recover, still looking at her scanner. "I do not believe Mr Tucker is quite himself," she began. "I am tracking his movements through the ship. He is heading for the transporter room."

Archer's worry gave way to incredulity, not only had Trip left the crew but he was apparently walking in a vacuum. "I take it the life support is still malfunctioning?" he questioned, more as a matter of form than anything else, they had, after all, all struggled to reach the Mess Hall only a few minutes earlier.

"The readings certainly suggest it Captain," T'Pol agreed but didn't appear surprised when Archer went to the door to test the theory.

He returned almost immediately, slightly short of breath, having confirmed his suspicions.

"Then how..?" Reed asked aloud the question in everyone's minds. "Doctor?" he looked at Phlox questioningly.

The Denobulan shook his head. "I can only surmise that it had something to do with what happened on the planet but I have been unable to take any detailed scans of Mr Tucker as you know."

Archer frowned. "How much longer for the EV suits?" he asked, a touch of irritation tingeing his voice.

"I'll go and find out Sir," Reed replied immediately and headed to the far side of the room to assist the crewmen with repairs.

II

Trip moved steadily through the corridors looking neither right nor left. He knew where he was going though some part of his mind was surprised that he was going there. Something didn't feel right but he was damned if he knew what it was. Unconcerned he reached the turbolift and keyed in the deck for the transporter room.

Reaching the transporter he input a set of co-ordinates before operating the console. The familiar hum filled the room before dying away, leaving an amorphous mist floating over the transporter pad. The mist hovered for a moment or two before moving to linger above Tucker's head.

Passively he reset the co-ordinates and activated the transporter.

III

Reed took another sip of the water before resuming work on the EV suit in his hand. Something was distracting him, concentration was difficult and, for a moment, he couldn't place the problem. Gradually his mind cleared and he realised what it was. His mind was clear, he no longer felt as though his head was full of cotton wool.

Quickly he got to his feet and went over to where Archer was studying the scans with T'Pol. The captain was frowning over the readings in front of him; it didn't look like good news. He looked up as Reed approached. "Malcolm?"

"Sir," Reed began. "I've remembered what happened on the planet."

Archer turned quickly and gestured for the Lieutenant to continue.

"Pretty much as soon as we entered the atmosphere we were in trouble. The gaseous eddies caught us and I wasn't able to control the shuttle. We ended up crashing into the sea." Malcolm shuddered involuntarily before catching himself and continuing. "Trip managed to get power up again but communications were no go, at least as far as transmitting was concerned," he paused. "We did pick up the distress call again, just before we were dragged into a whirlpool. I imagine that was how we ended up under the water but I must have hit my head before then," he finished slowly, dredging his memory for anything further that may be of help.

Archer frowned thoughtfully. "So Trip probably saw things that you didn't, he didn't look to have had a concussion, though he did keep getting headaches." Jon looked over at Phlox.

"Although I was unable to scan the Commander properly I can certainly tell you that he suffered no sign of head trauma Captain. The cause of his headaches was a mystery."

"He got them whenever he tried to remember what had happened," Archer mused.

"And when I tried to scan him Captain," Phlox reminded them.

"So, is it too big a leap to suppose that someone doesn't want him to remember? That something happened to him, or indeed both of you," the captain indicated Reed standing beside him.

"Unless he experienced a catastrophic trauma," Phlox interposed, "such events can cause memory loss. The patient is too traumatised to want to remember."

T'Pol spoke for the first time. "There is also the question of the shuttle wreckage. Clearly it had been exposed to water at great depth and the wreckage was incomplete. It is not reasonable to suppose that the shuttle sank to the bottom and that Mr Tucker single-handedly manhandled it, himself and Mr Reed back to the surface."

She was met by silence as everyone digested her words fully aware that, whatever had happened to Tucker, they were powerless to help him at present, until the EV suits were repaired no one could even leave the Mess.

IV

Tucker bent to his task. The transporter room had become clammy and humid. It was no longer possible to see the transporter pad clearly through the mist that hovered thickly in the small room. Trip's hair clung damply to his head but his eyes were glazed, focussed completely on setting and resetting the controls after each transport.

Gradually, nebulous shapes began to form before him, seeming to pulse towards him as the vapour coalesced together. The forms grew taller as the transports continued and bore down upon the engineer with cold intent.

V

"Captain."

Archer looked over at T'Pol, his eyebrows raised in silent question.

"I am picking up several life form readings in the vicinity of the transporter room," she continued.

"Trip?" Jon asked quickly.

"His is one of them," T'Pol was quick to reassure him, "however; the other readings are completely unfamiliar to me."

Archer paced angrily, trying to ease his sense of helplessness. There had to be something productive that they could do. Trip was out there, alone, alive for now though God knew how. He looked over to where the crewmen were working on the EV suits, noting their consternation even before Crewman Inglis detached himself from the group to head towards them.

Jon met Inglis partway and knew immediately that the news was not good.

"I'm sorry Captain," he began. "As fast as we replace the seals on the suits the corrosion begins again. I'm not sure how but the decay seems to be embedded into the fabric of the suit.

VI

Tucker looked up as the final transport completed and he shut down the console. His face registered shock, disbelief and horror in short order before he screwed up his eyes against the agony in his head. He slid, slowly, to the floor, body convulsing. By the time the room was free of the nebulous forms he lay still in an ever increasing pool of green liquid.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

**For disclaimer see Chapter 1.**

**Thanks again for reviewing, I appreciate your taking the time to review.**

Chapter 9

"The warp engine is being initialised Captain," T'Pol reclaimed Archer's attention immediately.

"How long ………………." He began but stopped himself as one glance out of the viewport revealed that they were already breaking orbit under impulse. An animated chatter began around him as the crew reacted to the change; Reed was frowning concentratedly, keeping his anger in check with a struggle but other, less disciplined crew members were gesturing wildly.

"Quiet," he ordered. "We need to review our situation," he continued calmly, his composure reassuring. "I want you all to discuss strategies with your departments and report back to me in five minutes."

Archer turned to his senior officers, a question in his eyes.

T'Pol spoke first. "We still do not have life support in any other area of the ship but I am now picking up life form readings in both engineering and on the bridge. Commander Tucker is the only living being in the transporter room now, however, his readings are failing. She looked around the small group, fully aware of the impact of her words and saw the matching expressions of worry deepen in their faces, to be quickly replaced with looks of resolve. She expected no less.

II

Trip moaned and tried to raise his head from where it was lying. He was uncomfortably wet and shivered involuntarily. At the second attempt he succeeded in raising himself to lean on his arms and looked around fearfully, breathing a sigh of relief to find himself alone. He became aware of a pain in his chest and realised that breathing was becoming increasingly difficult. Clinging to the transporter console for support he hauled himself to his feet and was about to activate the comm. when the hovering memories surfaced fully and he pulled his hand away quickly.

Shaking his head to clear it he shuffled as quickly as he could towards the door. He had to get back to the Mess Hall to warn the others, before it was too late.

III

"Commander Tucker is moving Sir," T'Pol announced, "he appears to be heading in this direction although his movements are unsteady."

Hope flickered in Jon's eyes to be quickly replaced with a more professional demeanour. "Keep tracking him," he ordered, taking a pace or two towards the door.

Reed joined him. "We can't be certain that Trip is going to help us Sir," he said diplomatically.

Archer looked at him quickly as Reed continued. "How was he able to leave this room? By rights he should be dead."

Jon closed his eyes briefly, he knew that Reed was just being prudent but Trip had seemed himself, unwell perhaps but still himself, right up until he had charged out of the Mess Hall. He looked up again quickly at a thud against the door. T'Pol moved over and activated the door release, her scanner still in her hand. Tucker fell into the room as the door opened, breathing laboriously. He was shivering despite the heat.

The captain helped T'Pol to pull him into the room then Jon eased him to lean more comfortably against the wall as she closed the door. Phlox bustled over with his scanner as Trip's head rolled from side to side, his breathing easing slowly as he was once more able to take oxygen into his lungs.

"We, we have to stop them Capt'n," he ground out, chest heaving. "They want to take the ship, once they're sure they don't need us," he paused again for breath. "Once they're sure, they'll switch off all life support." He leaned his head back against the wall again, breathing rapidly.

Phlox placed a hand on Tucker's chest. "Breathe deeply Mr Tucker," he said gently, "you don't want to hyperventilate."

Trip nodded and closed his eyes and gradually his breathing slowed and the dizziness in his head subsided. He looked up into the concerned faces of his friends and smiled slightly.

"What happened Trip?" Archer asked quietly, "who do we have to stop?"

"I don't know who they are Capt'n," Tucker began, "but I do remember everything that happened on the planet. There's not much time," he repeated and began explaining as quickly as possible all that had happened following the shuttle's descent into the whirlpool. He took in the incredulous faces around him before saying with more emphasis. "We were all underwater; they had us wired up so that we were breathing the liquid."

Reed's face paled and he closed his eyes briefly as his friend continued talking.

"I can only imagine that that was how I was able to walk about in a vacuum." Trip looked speculatively over at Phlox who was nodding over his medical scanner.

"Indeed Commander," he replied. "Now that I can examine you again it is apparent that your cells have acquired the ability to become supersaturated with oxygen which would enable you to survive without it for short periods." He shook his head wonderingly. "What I don't understand is how I could have missed it before."

"I'm pretty certain I was being controlled Doc," Tucker continued. "When I tried to remember my thoughts were blocked. These are liquid entities remember. From what I can tell they were able to enter when I drank and leave through the sweat glands. Isn't it possible that they were," he shrugged, "altering the cells somehow so that you couldn't get an accurate reading?"

"I daresay that supposition will do for now," Phlox agreed, recognising that there were more important matters to consider.

"What is their intention Commander?" T'Pol asked into the pause.

"Near as I can tell they want off the planet," Tucker began. "But you have to remember I haven't exactly talked to these guys, these are just impressions I'm left with."

"You said they intend to kill us when they have what they need?"

Trip nodded over at his friend. "Yes Capt'n, but again that's only an impression. When I have been aware of them I've felt nothing but a calculated malevolence." He put his hands down by his sides and began levering himself to his feet. "How long before my cells are fully loaded again Doc?" he asked flippantly to cover his sense of dread at the task before him.

"What are you intending to do with your 'loaded cells' Commander?" Phlox asked in turn, recognising the emotions that crossed the younger man's expressive face.

Trip smiled back at him. "I think it's about time we turned the tables a little in our favour, don't you?" he replied looking over at Reed.

"We?" Malcolm asked.

"Tucker raised his eyebrows. "I'm willin' to bet you have supersaturated cells too Malcolm," he said.

Reed narrowed his eyes at the engineer but turned to the doctor nonetheless.

"Indeed you do Lieutenant," the Denobulan confirmed after a moment or two. "I suppose you had liquid entities blocking your scans too."

"Don't feel too bad Doctor," Archer said, "at least we now know what we are up against." He turned towards his chief engineer. "Whatever you do will have to be done quickly, before the entities disable life support throughout the ship. Do you have any idea of anything that will incapacitate these beings?"

Tucker frowned and sucked his teeth thoughtfully. "The whole ship is pretty damp right now, and they come from a totally liquid environment. I reckon they were able to survive within us because we are pretty much all water. Come to think of it I have been pretty thirsty lately too."

"So we need to lower the humidity?"

"Probably raise the temperature too. Trouble is to find some way to do it without their noticing until it's too late." He frowned again, deep in thought. "I wonder," he said a few moments later. "If we could find a way to lure them into the catwalk?"

"How would that help?" asked Reed.

"It's relatively simple to disable sensors to the catwalk from several places in the ship, doesn't have to be the bridge or engineering," he continued enthusiastically. "We could prepare the catwalk for them and then lure them in. From there we could transport them back to the planet they came from."

"If you can get communications back up perhaps I can distract them while you work," Archer suggested, his eyes gleaming.

Tucker nodded. "I can do that from the Captain's mess," he said, "unless they've actually locked it down in engineering. Can't see why they'd do that though."

"It will give us a chance to see how well we can cope without air," Reed added sceptically.

"How long will we be able to go without coming back here Doctor? He asked pointedly.

"That, I'm afraid is very hard to determine Mr Reed. The Commander was away from here for nearly an hour but his ability to survive without oxygen may have been aided by the presence of the entities within his system."

"Well I reckon that gives us at least a half hour each time," Tucker put in, "and we can always pick up an oxygen tank while we're out there. They can't have had time to mess with all of them. In any event, we don't have a hell of a lot of choice."

"True enough," Reed agreed, smiling slightly.

"How far can you go with disabling the sensors from the Captain's Mess?" Archer asked, reluctantly admitting to himself that he would have to watch from the sidelines once again.

"I can do most of it," Trip said slowly, his eyes glazing over slightly as he imagined the problem in his mind. "I can get everything prepared at least, then we'll have to go to the control room for the final connections."

"At present there are no entities in there," T'Pol added, consulting her scanner.

"Fine," Trip nodded his thanks. "You ready Malcolm?" he asked. "We can get to the Mess from here so we'll be back before we have to leave for the control room."

Reed nodded and picked up a scanner, checking his phase pistol on the way. He exchanged a glance with Trip, took a deep breath and headed out of the room.

They stepped into the Captain's Mess and waited, standing by the door. Nothing, breathing felt different but they weren't struggling for oxygen. After a few moments Trip shrugged. "That's it then," he said. "Looks like we were right."

He moved to the computer terminal and began to access the communications system.

"Anything I can do?" Reed asked, his colour returning as their suppositions proved correct.

"Sure, you can start with the secondary sensor relays, they run along behind that panel." Tucker indicated a panel concealed in the wall behind the dining table. "Be sure to stay away from any primary connections though, we don't want to alert our friends."

Reed nodded and moved to do as he'd been asked. They worked in near silence for almost twenty minutes, by which time Tucker had joined Reed at the access panel and they had virtually completed the initial alterations.

"That's about all we can do from here," Trip said finally, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "Looks as though our time is almost up too," he admitted.

"I'm definitely having difficulty breathing now," Malcolm agreed. "We ready to go?"

The engineer picked up his tools and stood, slightly unsteadily before making for the door. "Not going to give us too long is it?" he said, breath coming in heaving gasps now.

Reed didn't bother to answer, just keyed in the door lock and stepped thankfully back into the Mess Hall.

They were met by the smiling face of Phlox, scanner in hand. The rest of the senior staff stood off to one side until Phlox had finished.

"How are they Doctor?" Archer asked.

"Fine," the Denobulan replied succinctly. "They will need to remain here for at least half an hour however before they will be able to continue."

Trip sat down looking frustrated but there was no getting around it, they needed to absorb more oxygen into their cells if they were to be able to work in the airless environs of the rest of the ship. He began mapping out in his mind the quickest way to complete the sensor alterations and then to convert the catwalk. So much depended on where the entities were planning on going. If it was to be a quick trip there may not be enough time to put their plan into action.

His thoughts were interrupted by the captain who joined him at the table. "Did you have time to complete the initial alterations?" he asked.

Tucker nodded. "Uhuh, we don't have to go back in. The communications are enabled, as long as someone has a communicator on them?" He looked enquiringly at his friend.

"No problem," Jon replied, holding up the small device.

"Now we need to get to the control room to complete the sensor alterations, that should take about ten minutes. Adjusting the environment in the catwalk isn't difficult but the main problem there is access."

"You were only in the Mess for twenty minutes," Jon pointed out. "What about the oxygen cylinders in Storage Bay 2?"

"We could pick them up on the way to the control room Sir," Reed suggested, joining them at the table.

"Mmm, let's just hope no-one has tampered with them," Trip said under his breath but loudly enough for his friends to hear. "Every time we leave this room we run the risk of the entities finding us so I'd prefer to keep the movin' about to a minimum."

"Agreed," Archer concurred. "While you were busy we were thinking about how to 'persuade' the entities to enter the catwalk. It's important that they don't realise we know that you and Malcolm can move about the ship or you'll lose the element of surprise." He paused, "how long to lower humidity and raise the temperature enough in engineering?"

"I'll need to disable the warp engine or the catwalk would far too hot to be attractive to them, but we need a system overload to raise the temperature enough. Problem is doing it without causing serious damage. I think I'll have to bypass the impulse safeties so that the engines run beyond capacity. That should give us the heat without irreparable damage."

Archer's eyes had widened at the engineer's description. "Sounds like it," he finally replied dryly. "How long?" he repeated.

Trip frowned. "That's the rub, best part of thirty minutes. We really need those oxygen cylinders."

"If they are damaged you make good and sure to allow enough time to get back here before going to engineering," Archer ordered.

"Aye Sir," Tucker replied absentmindedly, his mind on the task ahead.

"I am reading a planet on sensors Captain." T'Pol had arrived at their table unnoticed but all three heads looked up at her announcement. A planet meant that they were running out of time.

"How long to get there?" Archer asked the question on all of their lips.

"At present speed approximately forty five minutes Captain."

Tucker closed his eyes briefly then got to his feet looking over at Reed. They were out of options, it was time to go.

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**For disclaimer see Chapter 1.**

**Thank you again for all of your kind reviews. I hope that you enjoy the end of the story; I shall be kind and post the Epilogue at the same time.**

Chapter 10.

They made good time at first; using a scanner Reed was able to ensure they didn't run into any entities on the way to the control room. Both were well aware of the need for speed but nothing was to be gained by being captured again. One day, Reed supposed, he'd have to ask Trip more about that. One day well into the future perhaps.

Reaching the door to the control room Tucker looked over at Reed. "Anything?" he whispered.

"All clear."

Trip keyed the door lock quickly and entered the dimly lit room. Like the rest of the ship the surfaces felt clammy and cool. The rise in temperature initiated by the entities had been reversed some time ago. _No doubt as soon as they had all been able to leave their 'hosts.' _He supposed grimly.

Quickly he wiped a layer of condensation from the console in front of him and began to activate the sensor alterations. _Soon_, he thought, _the catwalk will look like the only hospitable area of the ship. _

Reed was keeping an eye on the scanner and he suddenly turned and gestured to Trip to get down. Something was coming along the corridor, even as he watched, the movement stopped and the door slid open. Malcolm stared, aghast, at the nebulous mass that 'swam' towards them. It halted in the middle of the room and appeared to turn, its colour changing subtly as they watched.

Heart stopping moments passed before the 'thing' fluctuated one final time and left the control room. It was some further moments before either officer started breathing again.

"Well," whispered Trip, "at least it doesn't look at though it has internal sensors." He smiled weakly. "I'm done here, next stop engineering."

"How about we go through the access tunnels? "Reed suggested. "If they've started wandering about the ship it might be quicker and we could stop by the storage bay on the way."

"Good point," Tucker conceded. "How long have we been out?"

"Twelve minutes." Malcolm looked at his friend, saying nothing, Trip could do the maths as well as he could. It would take them about eight minutes to reach engineering if they stopped for the oxygen but without it they would be out of air only a couple of minutes after getting there. Not enough time to do what was needed. That was supposing the oxygen cylinders were still operational. He shook off his thoughts, they were getting him nowhere.

Tucker had the access panel off for the tunnel and they crawled into it, putting the panel back as best they could.

Several times they had to stop to wait for entities to pass beneath the junctions and they eventually reached the storage bay an agonising seven minutes later. Already they were starting to feel a shortage of breath.

Tucker eased the panel off the tunnel as quietly as possible, trying to remain calm as each breath became harder, adding to the pressure in his chest. He peered carefully out into the storage bay. There was nothing on the scanner but now wasn't the time to take chances.

It was empty. Quickly they crossed the room, avoiding the bulky containers seeking the oxygen cylinders, praying that they remained intact.

Reaching the storage locker they fumbled with heavy fingers with the lock before grasping, at last, the heavy, life giving cylinders. They barely had breath enough left to sigh with relief at the hiss of escaping oxygen and spent the next precious moments breathing deeply before finally fixing masks and backpacks in place.

"Good job we don't have far to go," Trip said glibly, trying to relieve a little of the tension they both felt, "don't think we'd fit too well in the access tunnels like this."

Malcolm smiled around the mask. "From here we'd do best to signal the Captain from access port 3 so that he can begin his distraction and let us get into engineering."

Trip nodded, his face distorted by the breathing apparatus. He needed access to auxiliary control in order to firstly disable the warp reactor and then alter the atmospheric conditions, both in the ship and the catwalk. All told it should take about five minutes of uninterrupted work. Always assuming he got five minutes before being interrupted.

"Ready?" he asked, gesturing for Reed to precede him to the door.

Malcolm consulted the scanner again and moved out from behind the storage containers carefully. For the moment the corridor was empty. They made their way swiftly towards access port 3 from where they could enter engineering at the upper level. Twice they had to stop and squeeze as close to the wall as their bulky equipment would allow as Malcolm's scanner picked up life readings in their vicinity. These heart stopping moments proved to be the only problems they encountered however and, barely five minutes after leaving the storage bay, they reached their destination.

Stopping outside the door to check the scanner again Reed froze momentarily then keyed the door override and signalled Trip inside. Tucker followed without question but raised his eyebrows at his friend once they were both inside with the door shut behind them.

"Entities approaching from both directions," Malcolm breathed, showing Tucker the scans. Both men took up station on either side of the door but watched in relief as the entities moved slowly away.

"There seem to be a lot more of them," Reed remarked.

Trip rubbed a hand over tired eyes. "Damned if I know how many I beamed up," he said, "but they seemed to coalesce together as more arrived."

"Well the sooner they 'coalesce' into the catwalk the happier I'll be," Malcolm was already getting out his communicator, ready to signal the captain. Tucker moved across to the door to engineering. He was under no illusions as to how much time he would have, looking at the scanner there were eighteen entities in engineering at present although they were all occupied on the lower level.

Reed moved over to join him, pocketing the communicator. "Captain's ready," he reported succinctly." He'll make contact in one minute."

They stood in silence, counting the time off mentally. There was no guarantee that the captain's ruse would work which was why Reed was going to go in alone to begin with. He didn't have Trip's expertise and had volunteered to be the decoy. Tucker hadn't been keen on the idea but had reluctantly agreed, as it was tactically the best move available to them.

Exactly one minute later Reed made a small exclamation in his throat and held up the scanner. The entities were crowding more closely together around the plasma manifolds. "It looks like the Captain's got their attention," he muttered and reached up gingerly to open the door as quietly as possible. He squeezed through leaving Trip holding the door open to prevent any further noise. Silently he crept towards the railing bordering the upper gantry and looked over. He swallowed at the surreal sight below him. Entities crowded together, changing colours subtly, it was almost as if they were talking to each other. Perhaps they were, there was certainly a calculated intelligence to these beings.

Reed turned and beckoned to Tucker. The engineer entered silently, taking his time to push the door to rather than shutting it completely. As Reed continued to keep an eye on the intruders Trip went to the console to begin work. Within minutes he had everything ready to safely disable the warp reactor and he gave Reed a silent signal before implementing it. From now on there was no way that the entities could be unaware that someone was interfering with their plans.

They could still hear Archer's voice in the background but overlying the voice of the captain came the whine of warp engines under extreme stress. This wasn't the first time Trip had had to simulate a problem with the warp engines and he found he had learned from his previous experience. This time, although the results should be just as impressive the damage would be limited to only a few systems.

He forced himself to concentrate on the atmospheric adjustments, trusting Reed to watch his back. It was a simple matter to raise the temperature and lower the humidity throughout the ship, most specifically the catwalk. Thanks to his previous adjustments the entities should be completely unaware that the catwalk too was inhospitable for them.

Below them the alarms sounding the failure of the warp reactor had caused a flurry of activity among the entities who had dispersed rapidly. Unfortunately they were also heading their way. Trip was vaguely aware of Reed firing his phase pistol and he renewed his efforts. The temperature was rising rapidly and sweat ran down his face, raising his rate of breathing.

Suddenly he heard Reed cry out and risked a look behind him. The security officer was enveloped by an entity, writhing in its embrace. Trip ignored his initial instincts to help his friend and focussed on the panel. His fingers flew over the console even as he felt the first tendrils claim him. It was like being gripped in ice, burning cold in its intensity. Stubbornly he continued, fighting to input the final commands. He felt the mask being ripped from his face and fought for breath. He could no longer see Malcolm but he could hear him. His world had become a cacophony of sound and feeling, pain and dread. Dread that he might not complete the job, that his efforts were too little too late. Pain from the cold and the feeling of suffocation as the entity tightened its grip, enveloping him in its malevolence.

He slipped away and all was still.

TBC


	11. Epilogue

**For disclaimer see Chapter 1.**

Epilogue.

Trip Tucker woke slowly, at first unaware of his surroundings. Gradually awareness returned and he was assaulted with a barrage of sounds and feelings.

"Take it easy Trip," a voice from a long way away intruded into his consciousness.

He turned his head, moaning slightly at a stabbing pain in his side.

"Keep still," the voice insisted, nearer this time.

Something was pressing down on him and he raised his arm to fend it off but was met with resistance. "Stop it." The voice again, right beside him this time. "You need it to breathe."

Gradually it dawned on his befuddled brain that the voice belonged to Malcolm and he forced his eyes open. Reed was leaning over him, holding his oxygen mask in place. Beyond lights were flashing, alarms blaring. He sat up quickly, almost knocking his friend over in his haste.

"Where are they, did it work?" Words tumbled from his mouth as he tried to scramble to his feet.

"They're gone from here but I haven't had time to check the systems yet to see if it worked or not." As he spoke Reed got to his feet, wincing at his own aches and followed Tucker to the console.

The engineer's fingers flew over the controls for a moment and then he dropped his head in relief. "They're in the catwalk," he stated finally. "I reckon it's safe enough to restore life support, they know we're out and about now, but I'll have to leave the temperature and humidity for the moment."

He made a few adjustments to the console and Reed felt a gentle breeze against his cheek from the overhead fan as the air began recycling again. Tucker meanwhile had activated the comm. "Tucker to the captain," he said slowly, voice betraying the tiredness he was feeling as the adrenaline left his system.

"Archer," the captain's relief could be clearly heard over the comm.

"Life support has been reactivated Capt'n," Trip told his friend. "Give it another five minutes and you can come and give us a hand."

Reed smiled over at the engineer before saying, more formally, "The phase pistols had no effect you know, the sooner we can deposit our friends back where they came from the better."

"Fine by me Malcolm," Trip agreed. "In the meantime how about letting them know that we'll restart the warp engine at the first sign of trouble?"

The armoury officer grinned conspiratorially. "Consider it done and just you make sure that they don't feel safe coming out here again."

Tucker wiped his hand over his forehead. "Like you said, the sooner the better. It's hotter 'n hell in here just now." As he spoke he began making his way down to the lower level to undo his work on the warp reactor.

II

"I'm still picking up the distress signal Captain," Hoshi reported as they approached the N class planet again some hours later.

Archer frowned "We'll leave a marker buoy with a warning message for any other passing ships."

He smiled over at his chief engineer who had just returned to the bridge. Trip's hair was plastered to his head and his face bore the marks of his recent ordeal but he returned his friend's smile cheerfully.

"We're ready to begin the transport Capt'n," he said, wiping his sleeve across his brow.

"Then by all means Commander," Archer gestured grandly.

Trip moved to reroute the transport controls and set the co-ordinates carefully. His face was grim as he operated the transporter time and again, concentration evident on his tired face. Finally he relaxed back and smiled brightly.

"Any one for ice cream?" he asked.

THE END


End file.
